"Let's run away together!"
"I'm pregnant! Something that belongs to you and me..."
"You traitor! My sister should have never married you!"
"I hate you, Jun!"
"Congratulations on completing your mission. Forget about everything you have created during these past few years in Zanark. You have never loved Lucianne. You love Shen Wanyue only. Your true identity is..."
"No, I..." Beichen woke up with a startle. His heart was racing, and he was sweating all over.
He realized he was still in the poppy field, and Yanyue was nestling in his arms. She was exhausted and fell asleep, and it looked like she had shielded them from the autumn wind with their clothes.
He couldn't recall why he had the impulse to ravage her in the middle of the mountains, but he didn't want to go back yet. It felt nice to have her in his arms.
There weren't many times when he woke up panting from a nightmare. Sometimes he dreamed of when his mother jumped off the balcony. It was a memory from a long time ago, but it was still vivid enough to torment him until this day.
The dream just now was different, though. It felt like yesterday. It was as if Beichen had lived that dream and seen and heard and felt all those things said and done.
He could only hear the man's thoughts but could not see the face. However, the woman's face was blurry, but it was somehow almost like a replica of someone.
Beichen turned.
And if he compared, the woman resembled her.
"Jun..." Beichen repeated the strange yet familiar name.
"...Yes...." Yanyue hummed softly and then dug in closer to Beichen, who frowned displeasedly.
"Woman, you dare to dream about another man..." Beichen looked at Yanyue's peaceful face.
"I should be the only one to show up in your dreams."
Beichen knew that he was only using Yanyue to satisfy his desires and keep his grandma's health in check, but since she came to him on her own accord, she had better follow through with her schemes because he would not tolerate her thinking of another man. It was she who took Wanyue's place as his wife, so it was only natural for him to expect her to dedicate all of herself to him as a good wife should be doing.
He had wanted to continue lying in the field, but he was now annoyed with the woman still resting and oblivious to the fact of her spoiling his good mood.
He stood up and glanced towards the trail. He was signaling the shadow guard, who had finally come at his request and hid nearby.
Soon there was a carriage slowly approaching the field.
Yanyue woke up the next day, cuddling her blanket comfortably on her bed. She didn't know how she got back to her room, the only obvious answer was that Beichen had taken her back. Although she should get up, she felt lazy and wanted to sleep a little more. Unfortunately, the knocks coming from the door disagreed with her.
"Princess consort, you have a guest waiting for you in the conservatory."
Yanyue groaned tiredly, still half awake as she stretched her body like an octopus on the bed.
"Come in."
The maids entered her room and prepared her for the day as per Old Lady Lu's order until she gave birth. Yanyue thought she didn't need all these extra hands, but she realized that one of the maids had almost gotten fired because the young girl had followed her orders instead of Queen Dowager's.
Yanyue only knew about it because the poor lass had come to beg her with tears streaking down her face the next day to ask for the Queen Dowager to let her stay. Yanyue realized that she held no real power in this court.
After her morning routine, she went to the conservatory. She thought it would be someone she knew waiting for her, but upon closer inspection, it was a face that she did not recognize. She searched Shen Yanyue's memory, but it did not look like she had met this person before either.
"Hello, thank you for waiting," Yanyue said and sat on the chair around the table.
"Good morning, Shen Yanyue..." the woman raised her eyes, "Ah, it is the Princess Consort now."
"Who are you?" Yanyue asked cautiously. She seemed to have many enemies nowadays.
The woman's red as dates lips curved in an almost cunning smile.
"My identity is not important," she sighed.
Then, she reached into her bag and took out a brown envelope. "I knew your mother. She was...very dear to me."
There was sadness in her eyes, but it quickly dissipated along with the wind. Then, she pushed the envelope over.
"I know you have had no luck in the plagiarism lawsuit, but this might help you."
Yanyue kept silent, still a little cautious. But there seemed to be no foul play from the eyes across from her. She made up her mind and proceeded to open the envelope.
"This is..." She couldn't believe what she had in her hand.
The woman smiled.
"Your mother knew that your stepmother would frame you, so she gave me this before her death. It was as if she knew that she was going to-"
The woman almost choked up.
It was hard for her to mention Leela's death. Leela did not look like she would randomly have some stranger hold onto something this important, so this woman must have been someone close to her. This undeniable fact made Yanyue more open and relaxed in front of the woman.
It was a quick visit. The woman seemed to have one purpose, delivering this vital evidence. Now that she had done so, she left as soon as she had handed it over. Yanyue did not get her name, but she was very thankful and called her assistant and Yanfeng to prepare for court. With this final piece, she predicted that they would win.
When judgment day came, Yanyue got up early and ate breakfast like every day. The seat where her dear husband would sit was empty because he had not been home since that crazy night at the poppy field, and that was three days ago.
Anxia came to pick her up after breakfast. They were the last ones to arrive. Wanyue, Mrs. Shen, and their personnel were already sitting in their prospective seats.
Yanyue looked at them with a smirk before making her way down the aisle to her section.
"Yueyue, we got this," Jason said firmly, and Yanfeng hummed in agreement.
Yanyue smiled, "Of course. I won't let my mother's work fall into another person's hand."
"Your Honor, let's begin."
Her eyes could kill in an instant, and her voice was firm. It was time for her to claim back what originally belonged to "her".
And she would never in a life's time imagined that such a trivial thing as a dress could become something that would change how the course of her life would be like; a simple cloth on the outside, but it held a treasure map among its gem.
*
"Cheers!" Jason raised his glass of wine, followed by Anxia and Yanfeng's excited voices.
Yanyue raised her glass of grape juice and calmly repeated, "Cheers."
The clinks of glasses echoed throughout the private dining room.
"Did you see her face?" Jason asked, darting around the room. "Her mouth was twitching! And she stomped out of the courthouse like a baby! She was not happy at all!"
Anxia laughed. She pretended to read the headline that would be on the morning news's front page: "Young Lady Shen cried in court! Stole and copied Klotho's design!"
Yanyue lightly shook her head but couldn't help giggling with everyone.
Yanfeng chimed in,
"If we didn't have the White Swan's draft along with that police record, then we would not be able to win. So even if President Lu had interfered, they wouldn't win with the evidence we possessed."
"Right," Anxia agreed.
"But, President Shen, how did you obtain that first draft?"
Yanyue grinned. "A beautiful lady gave it to me."
Anxia was not expecting such a vague answer. "A lady? What's her name? Why don't we invite her too?"
Yanyue sighed and took a sip of the sweet juice.
"She didn't give me her name. But she seemed to be on our side, or else she wouldn't have given the draft to us."
Yanfeng looked at Yanyue and asked,
"What are you doing now that you have the White Swan?"
"The dresses were my mother's life work. She would have loved them in the company's museum. It would be an inspiration for young and new designers like myself to see those dresses."
Yanfeng smiled at Yanyue in admiration. "That's wonderful."
"Let's drink more and eat to celebrate our success!" Jason motioned the waiter to fill up their glasses again.
It was after midnight and everyone was knocked out or too drunk to speak from too much alcohol. Yanyue only had grape juice because she was pregnant, so she was responsible for all these drunkards.
Anxia looked like she was dreaming about food, even after eating the whole table, so Yanyue couldn't help but sigh.
She was happy.
"Take them home," Yanyue said to the waiter as she headed out. Being a princess consort had its perks. For example, she didn't need to call for a taxi. There was always a car waiting for her under Grandma Lu's order.
Her husband wouldn't be so kind as to pick her up. And she guessed that he wouldn't be home tonight as well. He was most likely comforting his sidekick because she had lost the plagiarism case.
Yanyue snorted and whisked away the thoughts of those two adulterers. It didn't matter how much she loved him before because now all she wanted to do was take revenge.
But as soon as the car's door opened and Yanyue crouched to get in, she fell into a man's embrace. Then, her lips were covered before she could even react. She could smell an expensive wine on his breath.
It was dark, but those panther-like eyes always seemed to surprise her. Yanyue struggled and finally pulled away from Beichen.
"Why are you here?" she said and wiped her mouth in distaste.
Beichen frowned and held the anger in his heart.
"Go to Bayside Garden."
The driver nodded and started to drive off, remembering to use the partition for the back seats because his boss could not seem to keep his hands to himself whenever he was with the Madam.
Yanyue was astounded and protested,
"And why would I? I'm pregnant. We can't do those intense role play anymore."
Beichen smirked and picked up Yanyue to his lap. He was a little drunk because he had just finished drinking with a client. He leaned close and captured Yanyue's lips again.
Yanyue couldn't deny the static forces between them regarding physical touches. Sometimes, it felt so good that she forgot that she was supposed to hate this man.
The sweetness of his wine breath enchanted her, and she reciprocated the feeling back. Her arms unconsciously found his hair, and her tongue danced back and forth with his.
Yanyue felt a stimulation coming from below and gently pushed away from the man's mouth, and a string of saliva broke off.
He had grown stiff.
"I need you now," Beichen whispered hoarsely.
He found the zipper and pulled out, and in a matter of seconds, he was inside her, throbbing and pulsating.
Yanyue gripped his shoulders and hummed when he entered unannounced, even though she was dripping like honey.
Beichen moved smoothly and slowly, but Yanyue felt unsatisfied and took the lead. Then, he leaned and sucked her nipples. But it wasn't enough for Yanyue, so she caressed the other breast for more stimulation.
Beichen smirked and continued to devour the suppleness in front of him. He could never have had enough of it. She was sweet and addicting, like cigarettes after sex.